


I was never waiting, I was never waiting for the tears to start

by sofialindsay



Series: Bennett Holland Trilogy [2]
Category: Happiest Season (2020)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Angst, Did I Mention Angst?, F/F, but no one dies!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28703205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofialindsay/pseuds/sofialindsay
Summary: Riley watches her leave, knowing there’s little she can do to stop it.
Relationships: Abby Holland/Riley Bennett, Abby Holland/Riley Johnson
Series: Bennett Holland Trilogy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100303
Comments: 12
Kudos: 92





	1. In your eyes I thought I saw my heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies in advance. My muse has a very unhealthy obsession with angst. Combined that with a night of insomnia in which this entire fic came to life in my head and...well, sorry.

The clock needle is pushing closer to nine when Abby hears the car door shut and keys slide into the front door lock. Her eyes flick to the baby monitor, ensuring it’s on just in case, though she hopes for once their daughter will stay asleep. She watches as her wife walks through the door, suitcase trailing behind her, and doesn’t say a word. It’s only after Riley flicks on the lightswitch that she finally sees the blonde sitting on the couch. 

“Hey love, I’m home,” she smiles, moving towards the couch with purpose. Abby’s expression though, makes her pause. “Is everything okay? Is Lexi okay?”

“Where were you this weekend?”

“What? Abs I told you I was going to my parents this weekend to help them with some things,” Riley replies, though her voice waivers just enough for the blonde to notice. 

Abby swallows and Riley can tell she’s on the edge of crying, “Then why did your mom call me this morning asking me when you were going to visit them?” 

The force of her words hit Riley like a ton of bricks. It’s only then she realizes Abby is dressed to go out. A quick glance around the living room reveals a suitcase and Riley feels the panic creeping in. 

“Abby, I can explain…”

“Fuck, Riley,” Abby shakes her head, “You… you lied to me about where you were going this weekend. You left me here with our six-month old,  _ your  _ six-month old daughter, for two days while you went god knows where with god knows who. There is no explanation for that.” 

“Abs, please…”

“You’ve had so many double shifts and late nights since Lexi was born. Now I wonder if you were even working. That medical conference last month..was that real?”

“No Abby, I have never lied to you about work. Anytime I said I was at the hospital, I was. I swear to you,” Riley is crying now but she’s completely unprepared for the next blow.

“Just like you swore in our vows to be faithful? I guess the jury’s still out on that too. Lexi and I are going to your parents for a while. I don’t know when we’ll be back.” 

The silent  _ if we’ll be back  _ might as well be written in neon red on their light grey living room walls for Riley and she realizes the impact of what she’s done. “Abby no, look, I’m here. Let’s talk this out.  _ Please.  _ I can explain.”

Abby moves towards the bedroom where their daughter is sleeping and returns shortly with the baby in her arms. With the child in one arm and suitcase in the other, she faces the doctor, “Figure your shit out Riley. I don’t deserve this and neither does our daughter.” 

Riley watches her leave, knowing there’s little she can do to stop it. As the door shuts, she sinks to the couch, tears running freely down her face. 

**

Taking a late night flight to Pittsburgh, renting a car, and driving to her in-laws with a six-month old turns out to be a bit more of a logistical nightmare than Abby realized. Lexi sleeps much of the two-hour flight, but by the time Abby gets the carseat and suitcases in the rental car, she’s wishing she had taken her in-laws up on the offer to meet her at the airport. It’s after midnight when she finally pulls into the driveway and she already feels guilty for keeping the older couple up so late.

But it’s obvious they’ve been waiting for her. Before she’s even opened the car door, both are in the driveway. Barbara envelops her into a motherly hug while Rich quietly begins to unload the suitcases from the trunk. 

“Abby, honey, you should have let us pick you up!” Barbara exclaims, “You must be exhausted.” 

Abby pulls back from the hug and looks towards the carseat, “I’m sorry for troubling you this late. I just...I didn’t know where…”

“Nonsense,” Rich’s deep voice comes from behind her, “When my other daughter is being...whatever she’s being at the moment, you come home. We told you that when you married into this family and we meant it. You have just as much right to come here as Riley does.” 

The tears fall unchecked and Abby lets her mother-in-law pull her back into a hug. “Rich, why don’t you take Abby’s bags to Riley’s room. Abby, let’s get Lexi settled inside and then I’ll make us a cup of tea and we can talk as long as you need.” 

Abby pulls back and busies herself with picking Lexi up without waking her. Barbara leads the way into the house and towards Riley’s childhood room. The blonde has to smile softly at seeing the older woman already has the room set up with a crib and baby monitors and gives her a questioning look.

Barbara grins sheepishly, “We were hoping, when we found out that you were pregnant, that if we added some baby things, the three of you would be more likely to visit us.”

Eyes burning with unshed tears, Abby lays the baby down and grabs the monitor to turn it on. Rich quietly comes in with the suitcases and nudges his wife. Barbara takes the hint and breaks the silence. “I’m going to put the kettle on. Abby, take as much time as you need to get settled.”

The older couple leaves and Abby takes a moment to check her phone. Unsurprisingly, there are four missed calls and twice as many texts from her wife, as well as a few from John. She quickly texts him to let him know where she is, along with clear directions not to show up as he’s prone to do. As for Riley, a quick  _ We made it to your parents  _ is all she sends. The response,  _ Please Abby, come home. I love you, _ is immediate and she turns the device off. 

She quickly changes out of her travel clothes and into sweatpants and a John Hopkins hoodie; deliberately ignoring the fact she packed one of her wife’s favourite hoodies. Grabbing the baby monitor she heads towards the kitchen, steeling herself along the way for the difficult conversation she knows is ahead. 

Walking into the kitchen is the easy part. A mug of hot tea is waiting for her, along with cookies and sandwiches. Rich is drying the last of the dishes and Barbara looks up from her phone when she walks in. 

“Riley called a few times,” the older woman says quietly, “We told her you made it here, but that’s all. She’s pretty upset hon. What happened between the two of you?”

“I text her that we were here,” Abby stalls by taking a long drink of tea, “I...God it feels weird having this conversation with the two of you. I feel like it’s asking you to take sides.” 

“Abby, we’re not taking sides,” Rich interjects, “We want to listen and understand what is happening to our family.” 

“She...she’s been working a lot of late nights and double shifts since Lexi was born. I never thought anything about it. I knew she was a little behind since she took a few weeks off after everything. But then she popped up about a week ago and mentioned she was coming here this weekend,” she pauses for another drink and to gather her thoughts, “I knew the two of you had been wanting us to come up so she could go through the things in her room so I didn’t think anything about it either. Until you called asking when we were coming up.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry.” Barbara gives her husband a look, “We didn’t hear from her this weekend.”

Abby bites her lip. “So yeah. My wife took off for a weekend away. I have no idea where she went or who she was with. I have no idea who she’s been...with.” 

“I’m not defending her by any means, but this really does not sound like Riley,” Rich states, “She worships the ground you walk on, Abby. The only time I’ve seen her happier than your wedding day was after Lexi was born and you were both okay.” 

The simple statement is a subtle reminder of the final month of her pregnancy and subsequent labor, and Abby takes a deep breath. “Things changed a little after we came home from the hospital. Like, I know things do when you have a baby, and don’t get me wrong, Riley was wonderful taking care of both of us. Like, full-on doctor mode. But sometimes I’d notice it was like she wasn’t even there. Now I...I’m afraid she’s realized she doesn’t want this.  _ Me. _ That there’s already someone else.” 

She barely manages to finish before she’s sobbing and Barbara is wrapping her arms around her once again. Rich catches his wife’s gaze and picks up his cell phone. “I’ll be in my office.”

Abby has the awareness to raise her head and begins to apologize but Barbara hushes her. “He’s going to call Riley and that is a conversation that neither of us wants to be present for.”

“No,” Abby objects, “I don’t want the two of you fighting with her over this. You’re  _ her  _ parents.”

“And you are our daughter as well as the mother of our granddaughter. Abby, when Riley was outed in high school, the first thing her dad said was ‘Thank God we don’t have to worry about her accidentally getting pregnant now.’ The second thing he did was immediately take her under his wing to make sure she knew how to be a good girlfriend or wife. And right now she’s not living up to that. Rich also has a  _ very  _ low tolerance with infidelity.

The blonde is silent for several minutes before a yawn breaks through. “I’m sorry. Would it be terribly rude of me to call it a night? Lexi will be awake soon and I’m really exhausted.”

“Of course dear. Would you like to leave the baby monitor with us? If you don’t mind us coming in the room, we can get her in the morning so you can sleep in late. I’m sure taking care of her all weekend on your own for the first time was a bit much.”

Abby gives her a grateful look, “That would be amazing. I probably won’t sleep in that late but I put a few bottles in the fridge when we got here. Just heat it up...”

Barbara smiles gently, “Honey, you seem to forget I raised Riley. I think I can manage my grandchild for a few hours while her mom gets some sleep.” 


	2. 'Cause you had me believing, you had me believing in a lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, you both should stay too. This is all one big mistake. Abby, I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I was in Columbus this weekend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait to post chapter 2, but everyone can thank ohnice1 for convincing me otherwise. I'm weak to the power of Aubrey Plaza gifs. Who would have thought?
> 
> Also, I realize this isn't everyone's cup of tea (however there are many gifs of Aubrey Plaza drinking tea and I recommend everyone stare at them). But you see, the great thing about writing fic is the writer gets to explore scenarios that aren't in movies/books/tv shows.

The first thing Abby realizes when she wakes up is that the sun was shining into the room from the wrong side. It takes her a moment to realize she’s in her wife’s childhood bedroom, and even a moment longer to realize there is no crying baby waking her. She reaches for her phone and quickly realizes she forgot to charge it. But, she figures it’s probably a blessing in disguise; she’s sure Riley has left more texts and messages. Rolling out of bed, she stretches before moving to find her daughter and a cup of coffee. And not necessarily required in that order. 

She finds her daughter first, with Rich stretched out on the floor next to her playing with toys she’s sure is more for his amusement than the baby’s. Chuckling, she’s surprised when Barbara appears beside her, two cups of coffee in hand. Abby gratefully takes one.

“They’ve been like that all morning,” the older woman supplies, “I think he’s having more fun than her but I don’t have the heart to tell him.” 

Abby laughs, “Riley does the same thing with her in the mornings. Lexi can fall asleep but she’ll still be laying there playing with one of the many toys.”

“Speaking of Riley, Rich couldn’t reach her on the phone last night. She called about an hour ago to say she’s on her way here. She should be here within the next hour assuming she doesn’t stop anywhere.” 

“I’m not surprised. My phone died last night but I’m sure I have missed calls and texts from her,” Abby admits, “Um, do you mind watching Lexi a little bit longer so I can take a shower?”

“Of course we don’t mind! I need to steal her away from my husband so I can have some quality time with her anyways so take your time. There are fresh towels in the closet as usual.” 

Abby takes her time showering, trying to play through all the ways Riley’s arrival could go. By the time she’s dressed and ready to go back downstairs, she’s prepared for the worse but still confused how everything could go south so quickly. It wasn’t even two weeks prior that the doctor had showed up at home early from work, a dozen roses in hand. Now though, she can’t silence the voice in her head that whispers the gesture was one designed to alleviate guilt. 

“Hey Abby?” Barbara calls from the other side of the door, “I’m making a quick brunch. Do you have a preference on pancakes or waffles?”

She opens the door as she replies, “I’ll eat either. Don’t go out of your way, please. I usually just grab a bowl of cereal or something for breakfast.” 

“Oh nonsense, it’s nothing special. You haven’t had breakfast and I’m sure Riley hasn’t eaten today either. The last thing the two of you need is to be hangry during all this.” 

They’ve barely made it to the kitchen when a second rental car pulls into the driveway. Abby watches her wife climb out of the car and her breath catches just as her heart clenches. Riley is in jeans and a hoodie and looks as though she hasn’t slept in days. Her hair is wild and her face is make-up free, but to Abby? She’s as beautiful as she was on their wedding day. She looks away, her eyes burning, as the front door flies open.

“Abby?” Riley calls, but before she can get further, Rich stands from his spot on the floor.

“Barb? Can you watch Lexi?” he calls, waiting for his wife to appear before turning to his daughter, “Riley. Let’s go to my office.”

The doctor knows it’s not a request but protests anyways, “Dad. I need to talk to Abby. This is all a misunder--”   
  
“Riley, my office.  _ Now _ .” 

She knows that tone. It’s the same tone he used when she was seventeen and crashed his car after having a few beers and driving home from a party. It’s the same tone he used when he caught her smoking weed during a bout of rebellion during med school. Without another word, she follows him and swallows nervously when he closes the door and motions for her to take a seat.

“Riley, what in God’s name are you thinking? What are you  _ doing _ ?” he starts in, not giving her a chance to answer, “Your wife showed up here after midnight last night, in tears, because you lied to her, left her home alone with your daughter, while you took off.”

“Dad, it’s not what it seems--”   


“What it seems like, is that you have forgotten that you have a wife and child now. You are no longer a single woman to do as you please with whom you please. And apparently I need to remind you that you nearly lost both of them when Lexi was born. Or have you forgotten the fact your wife _nearly_ _died_ giving birth to _your_ child?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Anger flashes across Riley’s face, “Do not accuse me of forgetting I nearly lost them. It’s on my mind every fucking day!”   


Rich’s face hardens, “Mind your tone with me, Riley. Whatever fling you have going on the side, it ends now. I raised you better than this and Abby sure as hell deserves bett---”

“I have  _ never  _ cheated on my wife!” Riley all but yells, “I made a mistake yes, but it’s not what everyone thinks! But no one will fucking liste---” 

“Riley Elizabeth Bennett  _ Holland _ , lower your voice, count to ten, and try again.” 

The young woman closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, “Dad,  _ please. _ Let me talk to Abby and then I promise, I’ll explain this entire thing to everyone.” 

“You better have a good explanation,” he replies as he moves towards the door, “But Riley, if Abby doesn’t want to talk to you yet, you  _ will _ respect that until she’s ready.”

Without a word Riley nods and follows him towards the kitchen. She sees Abby sitting at the counter, notices her mom is holding Lexi and is torn on who to go to first. Finally, she approaches her mother.

“Can I…” she motions towards Lexi and is relieved when her mother carefully hands her over. She cradles her daughter to her, closes her burning eyes and kisses the top of her head. Then she looks at her wife. “Mom? Will you..”

But Barbara is already reaching for the infant and once empty-handed, Riley moves towards Abby. “Babe...I need to explain….”

“We’ll be upstairs,” Barbara cuts in gently.

“No, you both should stay too. This is all one big mistake. Abby, I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I was in Columbus this weekend.”

“Columbus?” Abby says quietly, already seeing where this conversation is going, “With who...please don’t tell me I know her.”

“A few months before Lexi was bor--”   
  
“Riley, who is she?” Abby cuts in, not in the mood to draw out what seems to be very quickly turning into an admission of infidelity. 

“My sister. My...biological half-sister.”

“What?!” comes a collective response from the room and Riley takes a deep breath.

“Before we agreed to get pregnant, a private investigator found me at work. Apparently my biological father had another child. My half-sister, Rebecca, is a teacher in New Jersey and wanted to meet. I was skeptical but agreed. I didn’t mention it because by then, we were pregnant and I didn’t want to distract from that. I also wasn’t sold on the idea of having a relationship with her.”

“And that took you to Columbus  _ how _ , exactly?” Abby questions.

Riley takes a chance and moves closer to the shorter woman, “I have a nephew. Christopher. He’s twelve. Um, Rebecca has some medical issues and once she found out I’m at Boston she asked if I could get her in with a specialist. At first I said I couldn’t but then Lexi was born and...after I almost lost both of you, it hit me. I had the ability to help make sure Christopher doesn’t grow up without his mother. As..as an orphan because she’s a single mom. So I agreed- hence the extra hours at work. I covered shifts and called in a few favours to get her an appointment with Dr. Harding. He referred her to a specialist in Columbus. Rebecca asked me to go as support. I felt bad leaving you with Lexi for an entire weekend but I didn’t know how to explain I was going to another state with a woman you hadn’t met yet. Or how to explain the sister thing to anyone.”

Abby is silent as she processes the admission. Rich and Barbara exchange a look and Rich breaks the silence, “We’ll be upstairs. The two of you have a lot to talk about and frankly, I think your mother needs some time too.”

Riley nods and looks nervously at her wife. Abby is staring at her rings and biting her lip in thought. Finally, she looks up, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

Abby stares at her, “I thought you were cheating on me. You  _ let  _ me come to the conclusion you didn’t want this anymore, didn’t want  _ me  _ anymore. You made me question and doubt everything you’ve told me since Lexi was born. And you don’t know why?”

“Abby, you have to know I would never cheat on you. You and Lexi are my world,” Riley begins, but Abby shakes her head sadly.

“I thought...before Lexi I never once questioned if you  _ wanted  _ me. After I had her, all the extra time to heal and stuff...rather than telling me your extra time was going to your sister, you let me think you had turned to someone else. Do you know how that feels?”

Tears stream down Riley’s face, “No, Abby I swear. There is no one else. There has never been anyone else.”

The blonde shakes her head, “And now I find out this entire situation was created because you didn’t think you could just tell me you have a sister? And you don’t know why you didn’t tell me. And I can’t even fucking be completely angry with you for going to Columbus to help her because it’s you. It’s such a you thing to do and it’s part of why I fucking fell in love with you to begin with!”

“Abby, baby...” They’re both crying as the doctor pulls her into her arms, “I am so, so sorry. I fucked up so badly.”

Abby pulls her closer, her face buried in her wife’s neck. “God Riley, if you ever do anything like this again I swear I’ll--”   


Riley pulls back and begins to wipe the blonde’s tears away, “I won’t. Never again. No matter what is going on in our crazy lives, I’ll be honest. I..honestly I never once thought you’d think I was cheating on you. I don’t know what I really thought. We have this happy bubble with the three of us, and I didn’t want Rebecca’s problems intruding in that I guess. I want you to meet her though. Christopher too. But that’s a future thing to discuss.”

Convinced now her marriage isn’t actually ending and instead her brilliant wife is actually just an idiot sometimes, Abby pulls her closer again, “Don’t you ever fucking do anything like this again, you idiot.” 

“I won’t.”

“I love you so much Riley, but I’m serious. I can’t go through this again,” Abby doesn’t even notice she’s leaning in until their lips are touching. Riley is all but clinging to her and the blonde doesn’t even care that her in-laws could walk in at any minute. She’s safe in the knowledge her wife is back in her arms and their family is still intact and she sighs into the kiss.

Pulling back suddenly, she frowns, “I think your mother knew about your dad’s affair.” 

“Why do you say that?”

Abby cringes, “His reaction and the things she said when I told them I thought you were having an affair.” 

“Oh,” Riley ponders, “That would certainly explain the lecture he was trying to give me. He hasn’t spoken to me like that since he caught me high as fuck during med school.”

“Excuse me,  _ what _ ?!”

“Long story really, but marijuana can be very good for anxiety.”

“How about we save that story for another day?” Abby suggests, “Speaking of which, how are you here? Why aren’t you at work?”

“Some things are more important than work,” Riley shrugs, “I took vacation this week. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to work things out with you.”

“And now? You have seven days off in a row.”

“I have zero idea.”

Abby smiles, “You brought clothes, right?”

“Of course.”

“If it’s okay with your parents, let’s stay here this week. They would love the time with Lexi I’m sure and being away from Boston might be good for us too.”

Before answering, Riley leans in for another kiss. “I think Mom and Dad will love that. Let’s give them a few more minutes alone then go up and talk to them.” A yawn escapes and she chuckles, “Maybe we can convince them to watch Lexi while we take a nap too.”

“Ri, I really don’t think they’re going to believe we’re asking them to watch their grandkid so we can actually sleep.”

“Oh please,” Riley shrugs, “They know how I can’t sleep without you. Plus I’m pretty sure we both look like we haven’t slept in days. And honestly, as much as I would love to defile my childhood bedroom? I’m exhausted.”

“Same. Plus, if we stay here a few more nights…”

Riley smirks and pulls her towards the stairs, “I remember now why I married you."


	3. It was you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you ever want to practice for another child? You’ll stop this line of conversation with your parents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 'WE'RE RID OF THE USELESS CHEETO" (and I've had a lot of champagne) DAY! 
> 
> And that's literally all I've got today.

They walk hand in hand towards the spare room the Bennetts converted to more of a gathering space and Riley knocks on the door, “Mom? Dad? Can we come in?”

“Of course dear!” 

Riley barely withholds a chuckle when the door is opened to reveal both of her parents on the floor playing with toys with a baby that is very obviously asleep. “So Abby and I were thinking, would it be okay if we stayed around for a few more days?”

Barbara’s face lights up, “Can you do that, with work and all?”

“I took the week off and Abby is on summer break. We don’t want to impose, but thought it might be nice to avoid the city for a few days. If, of course, you don’t mind a screaming baby in the house.” 

“What crying baby?” Rich replies, “Surely you’re not talking about Lexi? She’s been a perfect angel. Which she obviously does not get from you.” 

“Are you  _ sure  _ we have to stay?” Riley whines to her wife, who just laughs and leans into her side.

“I think it’s a good idea. Your mother and I have a few things we wanted to talk to you about before you left. This gives us more time.”

Beside him, Barbara nods her agreement, “Why don’t you let us watch Lexi this afternoon? No offense to either of you, but Abby, you look like a racoon with the dark circles under your eyes and Riley you look like you’re about to fall over at any moment.” 

“Oh my god, I am so exhausted,” Abby admits, “Are you sure you won’t mind?”

“Not at all. Why don’t the two of you take a nap and we’ll talk more later this afternoon?”

Riley smiles and is already pulling Abby out of the room, “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

**

A few hours later they emerge, both looking more awake and collected. They find the Bennetts in the living room, sans Lexi who is napping on her grandparent’s bed and Riley barely has time to sit down before Abby is curling into her side on the loveseat.

“I take it all is well?” Rich asks, eyeing his daughter sternly. 

Abby nods, but Riley speaks up, “It was all a misunderstanding. I screwed up but we’re fine now.”

“Riley,” Barbara begins, “you were a child when your father died. I know the view you have of him is formed from stories you’ve heard and pictures and old videos. I didn’t think you ever needed to know the full story. Your father and I were separated when he died. I knew he had been unfaithful, but I didn’t know you had a half-sister. Had I known, I would have made sure you knew about her. I’m going to assume your grandparents didn’t know about her either. Given how your father doted on you, I’m not sure he did either.” 

Riley leans her head against Abby, seeking a level of comfort only her wife can provide. “I didn’t think you knew. I’m not sure anyone did. Rebeca had never even seen a picture of him until I shared one with her. But that was part of why I never mentioned it when she found me. Dad, is that why you were ready to strangle me last night when you thought I cheated on Abby?”

“I raised you better than that,” Rich states, “I don’t say that to diminish your father, but the three of us had been friends for years. I saw what his unfaithfulness did to your mother. I was determined you were going to be raised to never do that to your partner.” 

“Are the two of you okay with me having a relationship with her? Or, is it okay for me to mention her around you?”

Barbara smiles, “Oh honey, of course we don’t mind! I think it’s wonderful you have another sibling. I made peace with what your dad did decades ago. Rich and I created a wonderful life together that I wouldn’t trade for anything. We would welcome your sister and nephew into the family just as we did Abby.” 

“Thank you, Mom. I would get up and hug you but I have a koala attached to me at the moment,” Riley laughs as she motions towards the smaller blonde pressed tightly against her.

“There’s something else your mom and I wanted to talk to you about,” Rich begins, “We’ve given this a lot of thought and we’ve decided to sell the house.” 

“What?” Riley all but shrieks, “But this is my childhood home!”

Rich nods, “I know, but the three of you are in Boston.. We’ve decided we’re going to sell this house and move there. We want to be around more, be able to help the two of you out. We want to be around to spoil Lexi and any future grandkids you give us.”

“Which is why you’ve been after Riley to come up and clean out her room,” Abby connects the dots aloud.

“Yes, but also we know how much Riley loves this house and expects it to be part of her inheritance. We had originally planned to offer to sell it to the two of you, at a discount of course but--”

“But we decided against it because Riley, deep down? You hate it here,” Barbara cuts in, “This town has been horrible to you since high school and we decided we don’t want either of you to be around that level of negativity, nor do we want our grandkids to be around it.” 

“This town does suck,” Riley admits, “I can take some time this week to go through my stuff. When do you plan on moving?”

“We want to be in Boston by winter,” Rich answers, we’ve been looking at houses close to your neighbourhood, but not too close.”

“You’re sure you want to give up cold Pennsylvania for brutal Boston winters?” Abby questions.

“Honey, the hardest thing as a mother is having one of your daughters in tears and being hours away, unable to do anything. We began talking about this when the two of you told us you were pregnant. The night after Lexi was born we decided we would move. This weekend confirmed that decision.”

Riley laughs, “So basically, you’re moving to Boston because you think we can’t manage our own lives when things go wrong.” 

“When you’re my age and Lexi has a baby, you’ll understand.”

“Nope!” Riley objects, “Lexi will not be having kids. She will not be dating, ever. She’s my baby girl and nope that is not happening.”

“Funny, I said the same thing,” Rich retorts, “But then I very clearly remember walking in on my baby girl and her now-wife in a situation that ruined my happy place of denial.” 

“But Dad! It’s different!” The doctor pouts when everyone begins to laugh.

“Ri?”

“Yes my love?”

“If you ever want to practice for another child? You’ll stop this line of conversation with your parents.” 

Riley dramatically snaps her mouth shut, causing everyone to laugh until Lexi makes her presence known through the baby monitor. Abby and Barbara both head towards the bedroom, leaving Riley and Rich alone. 

“The two of you haven’t had a date night in awhile, have you?” Rich questions his daughter.

“No, between work and Lex, we haven’t had time. Neither of us have been comfortable leaving her with John yet. I love him, but he can’t keep a goldfish alive.”

Having met the other man many times, Rich can’t really say he blames them. “Fair. Would you be comfortable leaving her with us?”

The bluntness of the question catches her off guard but Riley shrugs, “I’d have to ask Abby but I can’t see why we wouldn’t. I mean you kept me alive all those years and I think I turned out okay.” 

“Ask her. I think it would be nice if the two of you had a date night. Maybe take her to the country club for a nice dinner and get a room for the night.”

Laughing, Riley shakes her head, “Are you seriously telling me to wine and dine my wife?”

Walking past her, Rich stops to pat her shoulder. “Romance keeps a relationship alive, my daughter. But consider it.”

She’s still laughing when she finds her wife in the bedroom looking through her suitcase. Once again, their child is nowhere in sight. Walking up behind the other woman, she wraps her arms around her waist and leans against her, “What are you looking for?”

“I was actually trying to figure out if I put any of  _ my  _ shirts to wear. Seems I packed all of yours instead.” 

“I was wondering where things went,” Riley murmurs, kissing the back of the blonde’s neck, “Hey what would you think about Mom and Dad watching Lexi one night this week?”

Abby pulls away and turns to face the doctor, “You mean for a few hours?”

“I mean overnight. Dad suggested it actually, but a date night doesn’t sound like a horrible idea. Besides, this shitty town is the reason we’re together now. It might be good for us to just be us. Not parents, or Doctor, or Professor. Just Abby and Riley.”

“You realize if we let them watch her overnight, we may never see our daughter again, right?” 

Riley laughs, “Babe, you know when they’re in Boston we’re probably never going to see her anyways. Might as well get used to it now.” 

“Let’s do it.”

“Yeah? I can take my wife out for a date while our kid stays with her grandparents?”

Abby runs her fingers under the hem of the brunette’s shirt, nails scraping along the tight skin found there, “You can, but if I’m honest, I’d be perfectly happy with you, me, a pizza, a hotel room, and  _ maybe  _ a jacuzzi tub.”

Riley swallows harshly as one of the blonde’s hands slides around to slip into her back pocket. “Yeah? I can um, probably make that happen on short notice.”

“You should. Unrelated, did you happen to pack any sleep shorts or any of my sleeveless shirts in your suitcase?”

The sudden change of topic leaves Riley silent while her brain processes the sudden shift. Finally she shakes her head, “I’m not entirely sure. I doubt it. Why?”

“Because I didn’t, apparently. All I have are jeans and a few more of your shirts. You know I hate sleeping in anything with sleeves.”

“We could go shopping?” Riley offers, before biting her lip, “Or, there’s one other option.” 

The glare she receives tells her her wife is not on board with that particular line of thought. 

“Riley. I am not going shirtless at your parent’s home. Even to sleep.”

“Bummer,” the doctor muses, sliding her own hand up the back of Abby’s shirt and getting her own distracting revenge with her nails.“But also, very cocky.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Assuming Mom and Dad offer to watch her tonight, which I suspect they will, it is very bold of you to assume I’m going to let you keep anything on. Especially since this door has a perfectly-functional lock and my parent’s room is on the other side of the house.”

“Riley!” Abby squeaks as her wife leans down to kiss her neck.

“What?” The other woman mumbles innocently, “I’m just giving you fair warning.”

It takes everything in the younger woman’s power to step away from her wife’s hold. “Your parents...go talk to your parents about watching her one night this week. Please.”

Riley nods and turns to leave, knowing she’s flustered the other woman enough without intention or ability to follow-through at the moment. “Of course. I’ll ask about tonight too. Just in case.”


End file.
